Aussies rule

Marlon Samuels’ 10th One-Day-International century was not enough to garner West Indies a victory, as contributions from captain Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell guided Australia into the triangular series final with a six-wicket win at Kensington Oval Tuesday.

Samuels’ 125 (134 balls, 14 4s, two 6s) and his partnership of 192 with Denesh Ramdin (91 in 92 balls, five 4s, two 6s), pushed West Indies to 282 for 8 and ensured Australia’s batsmen had a sizeable target to pursue. But Smith (78 in 107 balls) produced the innings of a leader and was able to coax Marsh (79 not out in 85 balls) into one of his best and most complete international innings. Maxwell (46 in 26 balls) then came in with the game still in the balance and responded with a flurry of shots that will help his own sense of esteem enormously after a series in which he was dropped for two matches.

Marlon Samuels celebrating his century but Australia had the final say.

Even so, the Australians will still want to improve their fielding and bowling, two areas that were found wanting in the afternoon. On the fastest pitch of the tournament so far, three early wickets to the new ball gave Australia a fine start after Smith sent West Indies in. However Samuels found a willing ally in Ramdin and their 192 together was the best fourth wicket stand in all ODIs between the two teams.

After Samuels went on to his first ODI hundred against Australia, late-innings hitting left the visitors to question their choice of bowling first. The tour selectors again ignored spin, and another indifferent fielding display was emphasised by Matthew Wade dropping Samuels on 66.

Early on it appeared that the pace in the pitch would be ideal for Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja to set up Australia’s chase, but both were to be hurried up by deliveries skidding through and out in the teens. Shannon Gabriel, the debutant, generated significant pace from his muscular action, though his impact was offset by the withdrawal of Jason Holder due to injury after two overs.

Smith and George Bailey sought to stabilise the innings, conscious there was little in-form batting beneath them. They did well for a time, but Bailey was uncomfortable against the turn and lift gained by Sulieman Benn – amid a selection of loose balls – and skied a catch with 184 still required.

The Australians elected to send Marsh in ahead of Maxwell, and the gambit paid off richly. Marsh enjoyed the extra pace in the pitch and grew nicely into his innings in Smith’s company, using some of the cross bat shots he had learned at his home ground at the WACA in Perth. With Smith working the ball around sensibly they kept the target in sight, and were able to generate the odd piece of slipshod West Indian fielding.

In the end, the efforts to stretch the fielders cost Smith his wicket as he was comfortably run out when the target was looming within sight. His exit though served a useful purpose by allowing Maxwell to enter the fray with Australia needing 62 off 50 balls. Earlier in the tournament he had looked completely at sea on slow Guyana surfaces, but now got past a nervy first few deliveries to accelerate in thrilling style.

Though these closing passages served mainly to change the margin of victory rather than preventing defeat, Maxwell’s fireworks – including one audacious switch-punch six off the spin of Sunil Narine – will make a major difference to his confidence heading into the final and beyond. Marsh, too, will benefit from a fine innings that showed the kind of maturity the selectors have been hoping to see from him for quite some time.

On a fine day in Bridgetown, West Indies replaced Jerome Taylor with Gabriel, while Australia named the same XI chosen for the washed out encounter with South Africa.

Mitchell Starc had missed the previous encounter with the West Indies, and he immediately found pace and bounce to his liking. It was too much for Johnson Charles, who edged a fast, full delivery in the very first over, and the hapless Andre Fletcher fared little better as he groped at a succession of balls whirring across him.

Hazlewood also generated plenty of lift, and it was with one such delivery that ended a promising Darren Bravo innings as Smith held a one-handed as he dived from a wide first slip. Fletcher was being battered verbally as well as technically by Starc, and it wasn’t long before he was taken off the shoulder of the bat at backward point.

Three wickets down with the ball still new, West Indies were in a most precarious position when Ramdin joined Samuels. Initially their response was obstinate defence, absorbing the bounce and speed of Starc and Hazlewood, then the early forays of James Faulkner, Scott Boland and Mitchell Marsh.

Nearly seven overs passed without a boundary, and it was 64 for 3 in the 20th over when Samuels decided Boland and Marsh had to go. In the space of two overs he clattered 27 runs from the support seamers, tilting momentum back towards the West Indies for the first time all innings. Samuels and Ramdin carried on with increasing authority, setting up the ideal platform for West Indies’ brute force further down the order.

Ultimately Ramdin would fall short of a century, bowled having a swing at Starc. Kieron Pollard hit a few blows but not as many as the hosts would have liked.

West Indies (eight points) must now beat South Africa (12 points) on Friday and take bonus points from the game to qualify for the final against Australia (15 points).

Search in Archive

Select a MonthSelect a CategorySearch with Google

Barbados Today

Our mission is to keep you informed. Do you have news, know of an event or a personality deserving of coverage? Contact us today! Nothing or no one is too big or too small for us at Barbados Today to highlight. You can also take your own good quality photographs of community events and drop us a note with the details.